Packaging method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A packaging machine and method for automatic or semi-automatic operation with a bag sealing station provided laterally rearwardly of a bag loading station. A web of interconnected heat-sealable bags are successively fed to the bag loading station. The loaded bag is moved rearwardly to the sealing station and is there clamped against a heater bar by a movable sealing bar. Automatic bag packaging is accomplished by providing a pivotally mounted sealing and detaching assembly which tears the loaded bag from the web during the sealing operation. Heat sealing is accomplished concurrently with separation of the loaded bag from the web. A toothed gripper bar engages the web above the seal to prevent separation of the web in the region of the seal and to assure separation along a preformed line of weakness spaced from the seal. As the sealing bar is released from its clamping position, the web is advanced to move a successive bag into the bag loading position. Semi-automatic bag packaging is accomplished by manually tearing the loaded bag from the web and manually inserting the bag in the sealing station. In semi-automatic operation the web is fed to advance a successive bag to the bag loading position concurrently with the sealing of a bag in the sealing position.

United States Patent 1191 Lerner 0 [1-1 1 3,815,318 1 1 June 11, 1974 PACKAGING METHOD AND APPARATUS Bernard Lerner, Hudson, Ohio Automated Packaging Systems, Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio Filed: May 3, 1971 Appl. No.: 139,453

[75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

[5 6] References .Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1965 Thompson. 53/182 10/1965 Cochrane 6/1969. Shabram 11/1969 Lerner 53/29 X Prirnary Examiner-R0y Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, or Firm'Watts, Hoffmann, Fisher & Heinke [57] ABSTRACT A packaging machine and method for automatic or semi-automatic operation with a bag sealing station provided laterally rearwardly of a bag loading station. A web of interconnected heat-scalable bags are successively fed to the bag loading station. The loaded bag is moved rearwardly to the sealing station and is there clamped against a heater bar by a movable sealing bar.

Automatic bag packaging is accomplished by providing a pivotally mounted sealing and detaching assembly which tears the loaded bag from the web during the sealing operation. Heat sealing is accomplished concurrently with separation of the loaded bag fromthe web, A toothed gripper bar engages the web above the seal to prevent separation of the web in the region of the seal and to assure separation along a preformed line of weakness spaced from the seal. As the sealing bar, is released from its clamping position, the web is advanced to move a successive bag into the bag loading position.

Semi-automatic bag packaging is accomplished by manually tearing the loaded bag from the web and manually inserting the bag in the sealing station. In semi-automatic operation the'web is fed to advance a successive bag to the ;.bag loading position concurrently with the sealing of a bag in the sealing position.

67. Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENIEDJMM 1 m4 SHEET 10? 6 INVENTOR. BERNARD LERNER BY 95%, WM

yiwdrmws ATTORNEYS PATENTEBJUHI 1 m4 SHEET 2 OF 6 INVENTOR. BERNARD LERNER v ATTORNEYS mmimum I 1914 3.015318 SHEET 30F 6 INVENTOR BERNARD LERNER 9 2%? fi /Pmfa BY WW ATTORNEYS PAIENTEBJunH mm 38153318 saw u ur 6 INVENTOR.

5 y r i [5,719 BY BERNARD LERNER ATTORNEYS PATENTEIIJUI I I I914 SHEET 50$ 6 BERNARD LERNER ATTORNEYS JUNU I314 PATENTED sum 6 BF 6 I I INVENTOR. .7 BERNARD \LERNER 1 PACKAGING METHOD AND APPARATUS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS Flexible Container Strips, U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,828 issued June 7, 1966 to Hershey Lerner. This patent will be referred to as the Article Patent.

Mechanism for Automatically Feed, Loading, and Sealing Bags, US. Pat. No. 3,477,196 issued Nov. 1 l, 1969 to Bernard Lerner. This patent will be referred to as the Machine Patent.

BACKGROUND OE THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Y Y This invention relates to packaging and more particularly to a novel and improved machine for packaging products in bags supplied in a web of interconnected bags. a

2. The Prior Art Each of the referenced patents describes the utilization of a plastic web composed of achain of interconnected bags. The bags are each open on one face while the other face of each bag is connected to a contiguous bag along a line of weakness.

A simple mechanism for using a web of bags in packaging is described in the Article Patent. A coiled web is positioned on a mandrel in a carton. A blower is coupled to the carton to provide a positive pressure within the carton. The bags are fed, closed-end first, through a slot in the carton. As the bags emerge from the carton they areinilated by a flow of air emitted from the slot due to the positive pressure in the carton. A product is inserted in the inflated bag. The operator then moves the web until the next bag emerges from the box and inflates, and also separates the loaded bag for a sealing operation.

In the Machine Patent, a machine is described and claimed which dispenses the bags, seals them and then severs them in sequential, automatic operations. In addition, the machine is adapted to be connected to automatic counting and conveying equipment so that the products being packaged are all automatically measured and deposited in the bags as the bags are fed to a load station. The Machine Patent also provides a means for providing an interrupted heat seal line whereby heavily loaded bags are not so weakened during the heat sealing operation that they tear along the sealing line.

These two described systems for dispensing and loading bags, represent respectively a relatively simple, but slow, and a relatively complex, but fast, system for dispensing, loading and sealing bags..The optimized systern for any given packager depends on a number of variables such as the size and. nature of the products being packaged, the number of packages of any given product or group of products required, and the total number of packages, that is the total packaging rate, of the packager.

In the past, the most commonly-used system for dispensing separating and sealing packages has been basically manual. A machine similar in appearance to that I shown in the Machine Patent has been the most commonly used. With this commercially-successful arrangement, a web of bags is mounted on a mandrel within a housing. The web is fed through an exit slot near the top of the housing and then downwardly until 2 an open bag is at a load station near the top of the machine and near the exit slot.

In use, the operator deposits the product to be packaged in the open bag at the load station. The operator then grasps the loaded bag, pulling it downwardly until the next bag is at the load station. The loaded bag is then manually severed and the open end is inserted between the jaws of a heat sealer provided near the base of the housing. The jaws are then actuated to close and effect a sealing of the bag. After a predetermined time interval, when a seal has been effected, the jaws will open, allowing the bag to drop in a box or other receptacle beneath the machine.

With the described method of operation, the loading, feeding,.severing, and sealing steps are allsequential. The system is relatively fatiguing in that the operator starts above the machine picking up the parts to be placed in the bag, loads the bag, lowers it through the feeding, severing and sealing steps until his arms are at the base of the machine and then repeats. Thus, a relatively considerable amount of manual movement is required with each cycle.

With the device of the Machine Patent there is a limitation as to the length of a bag which can be handled in that sealing and severing are performed at stations below the load station and along a path of web travel. In addition, while performing the operations fully auto matically and quite satisfactorily, there is a complexity in the system which is not required for many purposes. Namely, there is a unique mechanism for bringing the faces of the bag into full registry. With small and relatively light products, and certain other kinds of products, misregistration of the bag faces is not a serious problem. Moreover, while the described automatic machine is quite satisfactory for many applications, the machine does not afford flexibility of optional, efficient semi-automatic operation. Neither does it permit the feeding of the web until both the loading and the sealing steps of a cycle have been completed.

THE MACHINE OF THIS INVENTION With the machine of this invention, one may, by simply changing the orientation of the sealer, provide either automatic or semi-automatic operation. In the semi-automatic mode, the sealer is positioned behind a vertical path of web travel with jaws positioned to move relatively along a path paralleling the web path of travel. After a bag has been loaded, the operator severs the bag and inserts the open end between the jaws of the heat sealer. The faces of the bag may be manually brought into registration.

A foot pedal is then actuated to cause the jaws to close. Simultaneously, a signal is sent to a web feed mechanism, such as that described in the Machine Patent, which feeds the web until a sensing mechanism detects a registered line of weakness in the web. Thus, the bag to'be fed is being fedalong its path in front of the bag being sealed concurrently with the sealing operation. I

When the sealing operation is completed the jaws of the sealer will open dropping the bag irrespective of the extent to which the succeeding cycle has progressed.

tion.

In the automatic mode of the machine of the present invention, the sealing jaws are positioned to reciprocate horizontally. After the jaws have closed they are pivoted about a pivot point at one end of the jaws which provides a horizontalpivot axis to sever the loaded bag concurrently with the sealing. The jaws also pull the bag somewhat rearwardly of the path of web travel so that, once the severing has been completed, the feed cycle of a subsequent bag can commence prior to the time when the sealing cycle is fully completed. So long as the successive web fed has not been too extensive by the time the sealing jaws open, the bag being fed will drop between the jaws when they open.

At first blush, it would seem that severing and sealing concurrently would be an impossibility because one would anticipate a bag would sever along the seal line. One of the outstanding features of the present invention resides in the mechanism provided to prevent such severing. This mechanism includes a toothed knife bar or gripper bar which is above and heat insulated from a heater bar which effects seals. A resilient pad, which is on one of the jaws of the sealer, coacts with both the sealer bar and the gripper bar.

After the jaws of the heat sealer are closed and the sealing operation has commenced, as indicated above, one'end of the sealer is moved downwardly about a pivot axis near the other end. This downward movement is sharp and rapid to effect a separation of the bag being sealed from the succeeding bag in the web along a preformed line of weakness, such as a row of perforations, delineating the ends of the two bags.

Where it is desirable to provide a chain of interconnected loaded and sealed containers, the tearing-off action of the automatic machine may be set to function only at the completion of a pre-set number of sealing cycles. By such an arrangement, chains of any number of interconnected loaded containers may be produced automatically.

In the semi-automatic mode of operation, the portions of a bag being sealed are disposed essentially horizontally so that the bag hangs over parts of the lower jaw of the machine and other parts of the machine. With the bag so hanging over parts of the machine, the friction of the bag and the machine takes some of the load on the package so that the full load or weight of the product being packaged is not imposed on the line along which a seal is being formed.

With the automatic version of the machine, however, the bag is hanging vertically from the seal and one would anticipate that the weight of the product, especially if a heavier product is being packaged, might cause a bag separation along the heat seal line. This tendency is mitigated by the sharp, rapid downward movement of the'heat sealer as the bag is separated. Thus, by moving the bag down quickly, the effect is to reduce the force imposed by the weight of the product being packaged on the bag along the seal line. Where heavily loaded bags are being sealed, the interrupted heat seal method taught by the .Machine Patent" may also be used to assure that the bags do not sever along the seal line.

After the sealing operation has been completed, the jaws open and a stripper mechanism strips the sealed bag from the knife bar. The stripper mechanism also serves to strip the sealed bag from the heater bar if the bag is tending to stick to the heater bar.

The heater bar and knife bar are positioned laterally rearwardly of the path of bag travel and of the load station. That is they are positioned closer to the frame of the machine than is the bag loading station. During the bag loading portion of a cycle, the coacting pad is in front of the path of travel. Thus, the heater bar is spaced from a bag being loaded so that any residual heat will not prematurely warm the bag. Moreover, the positioning of the heater permits the feed of a succeeding bag to commence immediately after-the separating operation and concurrently with the completion of the heat sealing operation and the opening of the jaws of the heat sealer.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the heater bar and knife or gripper bar are disposed inwardly of a slotted guard bracket. The slotted guard bracket serves both as a safety device and to facilitate stripping of sealed containers from the heater bar and knife bar. With the heater bar and the knife bar disposed inwardly of the guard bracket, the possibility of an operator accidentally contacting either of these bars is minimized. Moreover, since the web is caused to form a generally U-shaped configuration upon insertion through the slotted guard bracket during sealing, the weight of a loaded bag will serve to pull the sealed bag away from the heater bar and knife or gripper bar at the completion of the sealing operation when the sealing bar pressure is released.

The sealing bar is air actuated. Should the operator accidentally insert his hand between the sealing bar and the guard bracket during sealing, the air actuation is sufficiently weak and the resilient pad carried by the sealing bar sufficiently soft to prevent injury. Moreover since the heater is recessed the operator will not be burned under such circumstances.

From the preceeding discussion it will be seen that with either the automatic or semi-automatic version of this machine, there is a heatsealing station spaced laterally and rearwardly from the path of travel of the bag and from the loading station. Thus, a loaded bag is moved rearwardly from the path of travel as the sealing step of a cycle is commenced.

it will also be seen that the provision of a heat sealer which may be oriented for vertical movement for semiautomatic or for horizontal-movement followed by a pivotal tearing-off movement for automatic operation, provides a machine which is highly flexible and which can be tailored for optimum conditions according to a given users needs. Moreover, the machine can be readily changed from semi-automatic to automatic, or vice versa, if the optimum conditions for a given packager change.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for packaging heat-scalable containers.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an automatic packaging machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view as seen from the plane indicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevational view of a portion of the machine shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational view as seen from the plane indicated by the line 44 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a-schematic illustration of the automatic packaging machine with the lower feed roll moved away from the upper feed roll to facilitate threading of the web of interconnected bags between the feed rolls;

FIG. 6 'is a schematic illustration of a bag being loaded in the loading position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the container being moved to the sealing station at the beginning of the sealing operation;

FIG. 8 isa schematic illustration showing the pivotal movement of the sealing and detaching assembly during the sealing operation; and,

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevational view showing the packaging machine of the present invention arranged for semiautomatic operation.

DESCRIPTION or THE PREFERRED r EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a packaging machine is a shown generally at 10. The packaging machine 10includes a supporting and protective outer cabinet 11. A web 12 of interconnected plastic bags is fed vertically upwardly from a storage region (not shown) formed in the lower portionof the cabinet II.

The web 12 is reeved'over a first idler roller 13. From the idler roller 13, the web 12 extends substantially horizontally and is reeved around a second idler roller 14. From the idler roller 14, theweb is directed upwardly by a guide bar 15 toward a pair of feed rolls 16,

The upper and lower feed rolls I6, 17, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, have a series of axially spaced enlarged cylindrical portions I8, I9 respectively. Each of the enlarged portions 18 is in engagement with an enlarged portion 19. Portions 20, 21 of reduced diameter are between the cylindrical portions I8, 19 respectively.

A drive motor 26 is mounted by means of a bracket 27 within the cabinet 11. Output shaft 28 of the motor 26 is provided with a drive pulley 29. A drive belt 30 is reeved around the drive pulley 29 and around a driven pulley 31. The driven pulley 31 is secured to the upper feed roll 16. By this arrangement, the motor 26 is operative to effect the feeding of the web I2 between the feed rolls 16, 17.

The upper feed roll 16 is journaled by a pair of bearings 22,23. The bearings 22, 23 are carried by brackets 24, 25 which are secured to the cabinet 11.

The lower feed roll 17 is journaled by a pair of bearings 36, 37. The bearings 36, 37 are supported by a pair of brackets 38, 39. The brackets 38, 39 as best seen in FIG. 1, comprise the. outer endsof a pair of arms 40,

41. The arms 40, 41 extend rearwardly from the region of the feed rolls 16, 17 and are pivotally mounted from the cabinet 11 by pivotal connections 42, 43.

The forward ends of the arms 40, 41 are supported by means of threaded'lock bolts 44, 45. The lock bolts 44, 45 extend through apertures formed in the brackets 38, 39 and into the threaded apertures formed in the brackets 24, 25. The lock bolts 44, 45 are provided with knurled heads 46, 47 to facilitate their manual rotation.

Since the lower feed roll 17 is pivotally supported by means of the arms 40, 41, it may be pivoted downwardly as is schematically shown in FIG. 5 to facilitate the initial'feeding of the web 12 between the feed rolls I6, 17. With the lower feed roll I7 pivoted downwardly, the web I2 may be fed straight through the machine 10 from the first idler roller I3 to the lower feed roll I7. The arms 40, 41 may then be pivoted upwardly to raise the lower feed roll I7 into its operative position with the web I2 disposed between the feed rolls I6, I7.

I station, a blower indicated generally by the numeral 54 is provided within the cabinet II. A vertically extending duct 55 connects with the blower output duct 56. The vertically extending duct-55 is disposed adjacent one side of the cabinet 11 and serves to duct air from the blower 54, which is disposed beneath the web 12, to the region above the web 12. A horizontally extending duct 57 connects with the vertically extending duct 55 and discharges air from the blower 54 into the region above the web 12. Air is thereby caused to flow over the upper feed roll I6 and downwardly along the surface of the web I2, as indicated generally by the arrows 58. This air flow serves. to open a bag when it is positioned in the loading station 50.

In accordance with the automatic version of this machine of the present invention, a sealing and detaching means is provided for simultaneously sealing aloaded bag and for separating the loaded bag from the web I2 while the bag is being sealed. To these ends, a substantially vertically extending guard bracket 60 is provided rearwardly of the path of travel of the web I2 adjacent the loading station 50. A slot 6I is provided in the guard bracket 60. A heater bar 62 is positioned within the region of the slot 61. A knife or gripper bar 63 having a toothed edge 64 is positioned above the heater bar 62 to project into the slot 61. i

The slotted guard bracket 60 serves a number of functions. First, it acts as a safety device to prevent injury to the fingers or hands of an operator by shielding the heater bar and the knife bar from contact. Second, it facilitates stripping of sealed containers from the heater bar and the sealer bar. Since the portion of the web being sealed must assume a generally U-shaped configuration upon insertion through the slot 61, the weight of the loaded bag will tend to pull the bag outwardly and away from the heater bar and sealer bar at the completion of the sealing operation.

A sealing bar 64 is provided for clamping the faces of the bag 53 into engagement with one another with this inner face in engagement with both the heater bar 62 and the knife bar 63. A resilient rubber pad 65 is carried by the sealing bar 64 to perform this clamping function.

The sealing bar 64 is supported by a pair of support rods 66, 67. The support rods 66, 67 are journaled by.

a transversely extending bar 68 and by a pair of apertured brackets 69, 70. A transversely extending frame member 71 rigidly connects the inward ends of the rods 66, 67. A first actuator means in the form of a pneumatic cylinder 72 is connected between the transversely extending bar 68 and the transversely extending frame member 71. By this arrangement, the support rods 66, 67 may be moved axially by the actuator 72 to move the sealing bar 64 toward and away from the heating bar 62 and the knife or gripper bar 63. The ac tuator 72 in its extended position serves to clamp the rubber pad 65 of the sealing bar 64 in engagement with the heating bar 62 and the knife bar 63, and in its retracted position serves to move the sealing bar away from the heater bar and the knife bar.

When the sealing bar 64 is in its outwardly extended position, the web ,12 with its integrally formed container 53 extends between the support rods 66, 67. The container 53'is then solely supported by its connection to the web 12. When, however, the sealing bar 64 is moved to its inward sealing position, the rubber pad 65 serves to clamp both sides of the container 53 against the heater bar 62 and the knife bar 63. At this time, the

container is supported by this clamping action. The

heater bar 62 then serves to heat seal the container 53 while the toothed edge 64 of the knife bar 63 punctures the web at intermediate positions across the web surface above the region of the heat seal.

When relatively heavily loaded containers are being sealed, it is frequently desirable to provide an interrupted seal whereby the web is not weakened across its entire width during the formation of the heat seal. This may readily be accomplished by wrapping a thread around the resilient pad 65 to compress spaced portions of the pad such that no seal will be effected in these regions.

In order to limit heating of the knife or gripper bar 63 by the heater bar 62, a finned heat dissipator 73 is provided in contact with the upper surface of the knife bar 63. The heat dissipator 73 has a large finned surface area for heat dissipation.

In accordance with another aspect of the present in- .vention, as soon as the sealing bar-64 has moved to the sealing position, the sealing and detaching assembly pivots downwardly, as is shown in phantom in FIG. 4 to separate the bag 53 which is being sealed from web 12. A tearing off action is thereby provided, as is further illustrated in FIG. 8. The separation is along a preformed line of weakness in the web such as a row of perforations. The coaction of the knife gripper bar 63 and the pad 65 gripping the bag between the newly formed seal and the line of weakness assure that the separation is along this line rather than elsewhere.

The sealing and detaching means therefore comprises a pivotally mounted assembly. This assembly is pivotally mounted about a shaft 75, as best seen in FIG. 1. The shaft 75 is supported by a pair of transversely extending brackets 76, 77 formed integrally with the arm 40. A pair of collars 78, 79 journaled on the shaft 75 connect respectively with the bracket 69 and the transversely extending bar 68.

The brackets 69, 70 connect with a pair of frame side members 80, 81. The frame side members 80, 81 connect at their front ends with a transversely extending frame member 82. By this arrangement, a rigid frame is formedcomprisingthe elements 68, 80, 81, 82 and this frame is pivotally mounted about the shaft 75. This frame serves to support the heater bar 62, the knife bar 63, and the sealing bar 64, and the actuator 72 for moving the sealing bar.

A second actuator 85 is provided for moving the sealing and detaching assembly about the pivot shaft 75. The second actuator connects at one end with the cabinet 11, as is best seen in FIG. 4, at the other end with a bracket 86. The bracket 86, in turn, connects with the side bar 81.

A stripper bar 90, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, is pivotally mounted about an axis 91 from the guard bracket 66. A spring 92 biases the stripper bar against the front surface of the guard bracket 60. A magnet (not shown) carried by the sealing bar 64 serves to snap the stripper bar outwardly when .the sealing bar 64 moves outwardly from its fully inward position. By this arrangement, the stripper bar serves to *disengage sealed containers from the heater bar and knife bar.

The operation of the packaging machine 11) may best be described with reference to the schematic FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8. As has been previously explaned, the web 12 is initially fed over the first idler roller 13 and between the feed rolls 16, 17 while the lower feed roll 17 is in its lowered position, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The lower feed roll support assembly is then moved to its upper position wherein the feed rolls 16, 17 are in engagement with the web 12.

After the bag 53 is advanced to the loading position and opened as illustrated in FIG. 6, parts 52 are discharged through the loading chute 51 into the open bag 53. The sealing bar 64 is then drawn inwardly as shown in FIG. 7 to clamp both sides of the container 53 into engagement with the heater bar 62 and the knife bar 63. As soon as the pad 65 carried by the heater bar 64 has clamped the container against the heating bar and the knife bar, the second actuator extends to pivot the sealing and detaching assembly about the shaft 75, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

During the tearing action that is imparted by the pivotal movement of the sealing and detaching assembly, several things occur. First, the movement of the sealing and detaching assembly is sufficiently rapid to substantially withdraw the weight of the contents of the container 53 from the region of the heat seal. This action thereby removes a substantial portion of the strain on the region of the heat seal which might otherwise tend to cause the container 53 to shear off along the line of the heat seal during the heat sealing operation. The toothed surface 64 of the knife bar 63 simultaneously punctures the web 12 above the region of the heat-seal to assure separation of the bag 53 from the web 12 along the preformed line of weakness in the web rather than along the line of the heat seal.

With the sealing and detaching assembly in the downwardly pivoted position, the first actuator 72 is then rapidly retracted. This action draws the stripper bar outwardly to strip the sealed container 53 away from the region of the heater bar 62 and the knife bar 63. The sealed container 53 is then free to drop onto a suitable container or conveyor which may be provided beneath the loading station 50.

The sealing and detaching assembly, with the sealing bar in its extended position, is then returned by the second actuator 85 to its sealing position. At the same time an electrical control means (not shown) operates the motor 26 to advance the web 12. As indicated previously this web advance can commence beforethe seal iscompleted and the pad 65 has been moved to release its clamping pressure. By this arrangement, another container is fed forward to the loading station 50 prior 9 to and simultaneously with the return movement of the sealing and detaching assembly. The container is then loaded and the sealing operation automatically repeated. I

A semi-automatic version of the machine of this invention is shown in FIG. 9. The semi-automatic version is substantially identical to the automatic machine in many respects, and identical parts are indicated with the same reference numerals used previously. The semi-automatic version principally differs from the automatic version in that the sealing unit is oriented vertically rather than horizontally, and the knife bar assembly is removed. Also, the cabinet of the machine is provided with a forwardly extending guard portion to shield the repositioned sealing unit.

Referring to FIG. 9, a semi-automatic machine is shown generally at 98. The machine 98 includes an identical drive motor 26 and feed rolls 16, 17 for advancing a web l2of interconnected bag-like containers as was previously described in conjunction with the automatic machine 10. V i

A loading station is established at 50. The web-12 of interconnected containers feeds vertically downwardly from the feed rolls 16, 17 to the loading station where a container is opened by a stream of air adjacent the loading chute 51. When the container is filled, the operator then tears the loaded container from the web along a preformed line of weakness in the web between adjacent containers.

The cabinet 12 is provided with a forwardly extending guard portion 99. The guard portion 99 has a horizontally extending slot 101 formed therethrough at a position behind the loading station 50. The slot 101 defines a sealing station indicated generally by the numeral 100.

A heater bar 102 is provided adjacent the lower edge of the slot 101. A sealing bar 103 carrying a rubber pad 104 is provided for clamping both sides of the open end of the container 53 against the heater bar 102. A pair of support rods 105 support the sealing bar 103 and are adapted to move axially to move the sealing bar toward and away from the heater bar 102.

A pneumatic actuator 106 is supported by a bracket .107 from the cabinet 11. The actuator 106 connects with a transversely extending frame member 108 which, in turn, connects with the support rods 105. By this arrangement, the actuator 106 in its extended position serves to position the sealing bar 103 away from the heater bar 102, and in its retracted position serves to clamp the sealing bar 103 against the heater bar 102.

A foot operated control indicated generally by the numeral 110 is provided in the lower region of the cabinet 11. The foot control 110 is operative to control a pneumatic valve 111 and an electrical motor control (not shown). When the foot control 110 is depressed, the valve 111 is opened to admit pressurized fluid from a hose 112 to a hose 113 which connects with the actuator 106. The actuator 106 is thereby caused to extend to clamp the loaded container 53 against the heater bar 102. When the actuator 110 is released, the valve 111 vents the hose 113 to atmosphere to release the pressur'ized fluid from the actuator 106.

The foot operated actuator 110 also includes an electrical switch means (not shown) which controls the operation of the drive motor 26. By this arrangement, depression of the foot control 110 causes the feed rolls 16, 17 to advance the web .12 to bring a new bag into the loading position concurrent with the operation of the sealing mechanism. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the web 12 is caused to commence to ad vance simultaneously with the movement of the sealing bar 103 from its clamping position.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. in a packaging machine:

a. structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected heat-sealable bag-like containers;

b. means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station;

t c. sealing means establishing a sealing station for sealing a loaded container; v

d. said sealing means comprising a movably mounted assembly including a heater bar, a gripper bar and a sealing bar;

e. actuator means for relatively moving said sealing bar and said heater bar toward and away from one another;

f. said gripper bar being operative to grip the web along a line in the region near the area of the heat seal being formed on said loaded container; and,

g. said assembly being movable to sever said loaded container from said web along a line of weakness of the web during that portion of the heat sealing cycle subsequent to the engagement of the web by said gripper bar and prior to the release of the web by said gripper bar.

2. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted about an axis perpendicular to the plane of said path of travel so as to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web serially along the line from a starting point on one end of the line.

3. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein .said

sealing station is disposed laterally of said path of travel and said sealing bar is operable to move the loaded container laterally of said loading station to said sealing station and to clamp opposite sides of the loaded container between said heater bar and said sealing bar while causing said gripper bar to engage the web near the region being heat sealed.

4. The packaging machine of claim 1 additionally including stripper means for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar once the force clamping said heater bar and said sealing bar against the loaded container has been released.

5. The packaging machine of claim 4 wherein said sealing bar includes a magnet adapted to move said stripper means tostrip a sealed loadedcontainer from said heater bar during outward movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.

6. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said gripper bar is toothed to form a series'of punctures in said web along said line. I

7. The packaging machine of claim 6 wherein said gripper bar is mounted on said pivotally mounted as sembly of said heater bar and said gripper bar is provided with a heat dissipator to prevent its becoming substantially heated by said heater bar.

8. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein:

said sealing bar is supported by a pair of rods;

said pair of rods are movably supported by said pivotally mounted assembly for axial movement relative thereto; and

said actuator means connects with said support rods to move said support rods and said sealing bar.

9. The packaging machine of claim 8 wherein said actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder.

10. Apackaging machine comprising:

an outer protective cabinet;

structure within said cabinet establishing a path of travel for said web of interconnected heat-sealable bag-like containers;

means for advancing said web along said path to 'suc cessively position each of said containers at a loading station;

sealing means establishing a sealing station rearwardly of said loading station for closing a loaded container about its contents;

said sealing means comprising a pivotally mounted assembly including a heater bar, a knife bar, and a sealing bar;

a first actuator means mounted on said pivotally mounted assembly and operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar;

a second actuator means mounted on saidcabinet and connecting with said pivotally mounted assembly to pivotally move said assembly about its pivotal connection;

a knife bar operative to grip said web along a line in the region above the area of the heat seal being formed on said loaded container; and

said assembly being pivotally movable to tear said loaded container being sealed from said web along a line of weakness in the web concurrently with the formation of said heat seal.

11. The packaging machine of claim 10 wherein:

said sealing bar has a rubber pad formed therealong;

said knife bar is mounted on said assembly above said heater bar adjacent said heater bar; and

said rubber pad is operative to clamp the opposite sides of said loaded container against said heater bar and to cause knife bar to puncture said web.

12. The packaging machine of claim 11 wherein said knife bar and said heater bar are shielded from contact by a guard bracket having an opening formed therethrough such that said sealing bar serves to position said web through said opening and in contact with said heater bar and said knife bar during the formation of a heat seal.

13. The packaging machine of claim 11 wherein said sealing bar is operable to move said loaded container rearwardly of said loading station to said sealing station.

14. The packaging machine of claim 1.] wherein said knife bar is toothed to form a series of punctures in said web and is provided with a heat dissipator to prevent its becoming substantially heated by said heater bar.

15. The packaging machine of claim 11 additionally including a stripper bar pivotally mounted adjacent said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.

16. The packaging machine of claim 13 wherein said sealing bar additionally includes a magnet adapted to engage said stripper bar when said sealing bar is moved to its inward position and to move said stripping bar to strip a sealed loaded container from said heater bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.

17. The packaging machine of claim 8 wherein said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls and at least one of said feed rolls is movable away from the other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls.

1%. The packaging machine of claim 17 additionally including a pair of pivotally mounted arms supporting said one feed roll, and lock means operableto releasably position said one feed roll in engagement with said other feed roll.

19. The packaging machine of claim 16 wherein said pivotally mounted assembly. is pivotally mounted from one of said arms.

20. In a packaging machine: structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected heat scalable bag-like containers;

means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station;

sealing structure for closing said containers about their contents including at least one sealing member movable into engagement with the loaded container to be sealed;

actuator means for moving said at least one sealing member;

support structure for positioning said sealing structure laterally spaced from said path; and a manually controlled mechanism operative to effect operation of said actuator means and said advancing means;

whereby loaded containers are detachable from said web immediately upon being loaded and said manually controlled mechanism is operable to simultaneously effect sealing of said loaded container and feeding of a successive container to said loading station.

21. The packaging machine of claim 20 wherein said sealing structure includes a heater bar and a sealing bar for clamping opposite sides of said container together against said heater bar to seal said container.

22. The packaging machine of claim 21 wherein said heater bar is rigidly mounted behind said loading station and said sealing bar is mounted for movement toward and away from said heater bar.

23. The packaging machine of claim 22 wherein said actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said. sealing bar to effect movement of said sealing bar.

24. A method of packaging comprising the steps of:

a. providing a sealing station including a heater bar disposed adjacent but spaced from a gripper bar; b. providing a web of heat-scalable material having a loaded container unsealed along one end; 0. positioning said web such that the loaded container is at said sealing station;

d. clamping portions of the faces of said loaded container which are to be sealed against said gripper bar;

e. while said faces are clamped against said gripper bar, effecting a heat seal between said faces by clamping said faces against said heater bar, and effecting a separation of the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness in the web spaced from the region of the heat seal by moving the loaded container together with the heater bar and the gripper bar relative to the web so as to exert separation forces along the line of weakness, the gripper bar serving to isolate the separation forces from the region of the heat seal.

' 25. A method of packaging comprising the steps of:

providing a supply of plastic bag-like containers in web form with an open end of one bag attached to the closed end of a succeeding bag;

feeding said web along a path of travel with the closed end of each container preceding the open end thereof;

providing a loading station at a predetermined location along said path of travel;

terminating the feed of said webwhen the open end of each container is located at said loading station;

loading the container at said loading station; providing a sealing station defined by at least one container sealing element near said loading station and spaced laterally from said path of travel;

moving said container laterally into engagement with said sealing element to effect a seal; releasing said sealed loaded container from said sealing element; and

as the seal .is being effected simultaneously advancing said web along said path to bring a successive container into said loading position.

26. The method of packaging of claim 25 additionally including the step of pivoting said sealing element during the formation of said seal to tear said loaded container from said web along a line'of weakness.

27. The method of packaging of claim 26 additionally including the step of puncturing said web along a line above the region of saidseal simultaneously with the formation of said seal.

28. The method of packaging of claim 26 wherein said pivoting of said sealing element is performed only during the formation of selected seals such that chains of interconnected loaded containers are formed.

29. The method of claim 26 additionally including the step of stripping said sealed container from said sealing element subsequent to the detaching of said sealed container from said web.

30. The method of claim 25 additionally including the step of detaching said loaded container from said web while in said loading station prior to moving said loaded container to said sealing station.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the sealing of said detached container comprises the steps of inserting the open end of said detached container into said sealing station and actuating a manually operable means to effect sealing of said container.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said manually operable means is operative both to effect the sealing of said container and to effect the advancement of'said web along said path to move a successive one of said containers into loading position;

33. In a packaging machine:

a. structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected bag-like containers;

b. means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station;

c. closure means establishing a container closure station for effecting closure of a loaded container;

d. said closure means comprising; a movably mounted assembly including gripper means, closure securing means, and bar means movable relative to said gripper means and said closure securing means for clamping opposite sides of a loaded container to assure a positive closure thereof and to permit the securing of such closure by said closure securing means; r

e. actuator means for relatively moving said bar means toward and away from said gripper means and said closure securing means;

f. said assembly being movable so as to sever the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness of the web; and, i

g. said gripper means being operable in conjunction with said bar means'to engage the web near the region of operation of said closure securing means to effectively isolate this region from such forces as are applied to sever the web during movement of said assembly whereby the closure securing operation and the web severing operations can, if desired, be performed substantially concurrently.

34. A method of packaging comprising the steps of:

a. providing a closure station including closure securing means disposed near but spaced from a gripper means;

b. providing a web of material having a loaded container open along one end;

c. positioning said web such that the loaded container is at the closure station;

d. clamping portions of the faces of said loaded container which are to be closed against said gripper means; and,

. while said faces are clamped against said gripper means, securing the closure of the loaded container by operating said closure securing means, and effecting a separation of the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness in the web spaced from the region of operation of said closure securing means by moving the loaded container together with the closure securing means and the gripper means relative to the web so as to exert separation forces along the line of weakness, the gripper means serving to isolate the separation forces from the region of operation of the closure securing means.

I 35. In a packaging machine:

a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web;

b. means for advancing such web along said path to' successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station;

0. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station;

(1. said closure means including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure;

e. said closure means comprising a pivotally mounted assembly with said closure members including a heater bar, a gripper bar, and a sealing bar;

f. actuator means mounted on said pivotally mounted assembly and operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar;

g. control means operable to release said closure members to permit a closed and loaded container to be removed from said closure station;

h. said gripper bar being operative to engage said web in regions near the area of a heat seal'being formed on said loaded container; and,

i. said assembly being movable to tear said loaded container being sealed from said web along a line of weakness in the web substantially concurrently with the formation of said heat seal.

36. The packaging machine of claim 35 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted about an axis perpendicular to the plane of said path of travel in the region of said loading station, said axis being transversely spaced from said path of travel.

37. In a packaging machine:

a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web;

b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station;

c. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station;

d. said closure means including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure;

e. actuator means for moving said closure members relatively;

f. control means operable to release said closure members to permit a closed loaded container to be removed from said closure station; and

g. said control means comprising control means a manually controlled mechanism operative to effect operation of said actuator means and said advancing means, whereby loaded containers are detachable from said web immediately upon being loaded and said manually controlled mechanism is operative to effectsealing of said loaded container and to simultaneously advance a successive container to said loading station.

38. The packaging machine of claim 37 wherein:

a. said sealing means includes a heater bar and a sealing bar; and

b. said actuator means is operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar.

39. In a packaging machine:

a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web;

b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station;

c. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station;

(1. said closure means including relatively movable closure'members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure;

e. actuator means for moving said closure members relatively;

f. control means. operable to release said closure members to permit a closed and loaded container to be removed from said closure station;

g. said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls;

h. one of said feed rolls is supported by a pair of pivotally mounted arms such that said one feed roll may be moved away from said other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls;

i. said pivotally mounted assembly is pivotally mounted from one of said arms; and,

j. a second actuator means is provided for pivoting said pivotally mounted assembly about its pivoted connection with said arm.

40. The packaging machine of claim 39 wherein said second actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said pivotally mounted assembly to effect movement of said pivotally mounted assembly.

41. A packaging apparatus comprising:

a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station; and,

b. container closure and gripping means for:

i. closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station;

ii. gripping the loaded container so as to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the container;

iii. thereafter applying such container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web, said forces being applied to the line of weakness while the bag is being gripped to isolate the separation forces;

and v c. said closure and gripping means including structure for at least partially penetrating the web to positively engage the web and facilitate the separation of the loaded container from other portions of the web.

42. The packaging apparatus of claim 41 wherein said structure comprises a toothed gripper'bar.

43. in a packaging machine:

a. said actuator means comprises an air actuator which is sufiiciently weak to prevent injury to an operators hand accidentally positioned between said guard bracket and said sealing bar during a a sealing operation; and

b. said sealing bar carries a resilient pad which further serves to protect the operators hand.

50. The packaging machine of claim 48 wherein said gripper bar is disposed adjacent said heater bar and shielded from contact by said guard bracket;

e. actuator means coupled to said members to effect relative movement of said members toward and away from each other;

f. said assembly being movable to sever a loaded container from the web along a line of weakenss in the web; and I g. said members being operable to grip the web in regions near the area of the closure to effectively isolate the area of the closure from such forces as are applied to sever the web during movement of said assembly, whereby the closure and web severing operation can, if desired, be performed substantially concurrently. n

44. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein:

a. said closure station is spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station that the web may be fed along the path past said closure station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closure station; and e H I b. said members are additionally operable to move a loaded eontainer to the closure station.

45. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted and is operable to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web in such manner as will effect separation of a loaded container from the web serially along the line from a starting point near one end of the line.

' 46. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein:

a. said members are operable to heat seal a loaded container and comprise a heater bar, a sealing bar, and a gripper means;

b. said actuator means is operable to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar; and

c. said gripper means is operative to engage said web in regions near the heat seal being formed on a loaded container to effectively isolate the region of the heat seal from such container separation forces as may be applied to the web during movement of said assembly.

47. The packaging machine of claim 46 additionally including a stripper bar pivotally mounted adjacent said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said gripper bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said gripper bar.

.48. The packaging machine of claim 46 wherein said heater bar is shielded from contact by a guard bracket and said sealing bar is movably mounted for bringing the faces of a loaded container together between said heater bar and said sealing bar to effect a heat seal. 49. The packaging machine of claim 48 wherein:

51. The packaging machine of claim43 wherein:

a. said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls;

b. one of said feed rolls is supported by a pair of pivotally mounted arms such that said one feed roll may be moved away from said other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls.

52. The packaging machine of claim 51 additionally including lock means adapted to releasably lock said one feed roll in engagement with said other feed roll.

53. The packaging machine of claim 51 wherein said assembly in pivotally mounted from one of said arms.

54. Thepackaging machine of claim 53 wherein a second actuator means is provided for pivoting said pivotally mounted assembly about its pivoted connection with said arm.

55. The packaging machine of claim 54 wherein said second actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said pivotally mounted assembly to effect movement of said pivotally mounted assembly.

56. A packaging apparatus comprising:

, a.- structure establishing a path of travel for a packagd. actuator means for moving said assembly subsequent to the engagement of said relatively movable means with the loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web to sever the container from the web.

57. A packaging apparatus, comprising:

a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station;

b. container closure and gripping means movably carried by said structure and including relatively movable closuremembers for closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station, grip-, ping means for gripping a closed loaded container to confine subsequently applied container separa tion forces to a limited portion of the container, and actuator means for moving said closure and gripping means subsequent to the engagement of said closure members with a loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting theloaded container to the web to sever the container from the web;

c. said closure and gripping means being pivotally mounted such that said container separation forces are applied serially along said line of weakness starting from a point on one end of the line, by pivoting said closure and gripping means relative to the path of travel of the web.

58. The packaging apparatus of claim 57 additionally including sealer means for sealing the loaded container during the gripping of the loaded container by said closure and gripping means.

59. The packaging apparatus of claim 58 wherein said sealer means includes a heater bar against which the loaded container is clamped during closure to effect a heat seal.

60. Apackaging apparatus, comprising:

a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station;

b. container closure and gripping means movably carried by said structure and including relatively movable closure members for closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station, gripping means for gripping a closed loaded container to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the container, and actuator means for moving said closure and gripping means subsequent to the engagement of said closure members with a loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web to sever the container from the web;

c. sealer means for sealing the loaded container during the gripping of the loaded container by said closure and gripping means, including a heater bar against which the loaded container is clamped during closure to effect a heat seal; and,

d. a stripper bar movably mounted near said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar.

61. A packaging apparatus for heat sealing loaded containers at a sealing station, comprising:

a. structure establishing a path of, travel for movementof a web of bag-like containers to position a loaded container in the sealing station;

b. a pair of sealing members movable relatively toward each other to bring together and heat seal opposite faces of a loaded container positioned between the members;

c. a shield having a recess formed therein;

(1. one of said members comprising a heater mounted inwardly of said recess and shielded therein from contact by an operator;

e. the other of said members being operative during movement toward said one member to move at least a portion of a loaded container into said recess and into engagement with said heater to heat seal the container;

f. means mounting said members for movement as a unit relative to said structure -to .apply container separation forces to separate a loaded container from the web; and

g. gripper means for gripping a loaded container to isolate the, region of the heat seal being formed thereon from such container separation forces as result when said members move as a unit relative to said structure. I 62. The packaging apparatus of claim 61 wherein said other member additionally serves to clamp the web against said gripper means to positively engage the web thereby facilitating separation of a loaded container from other portions of the web.

63. The packaging apparatus of claim 61 additionally including:

a. feeding means for advancing the web along said path comprising at least a pair of feed rolls disposed on opposite sides of said path for engaging and feeding the web;

b. one of said rolls being stationar ily mounted on said structure;

c. supporting means mounting the other of said rolls and being adapted to selectively support said other roll at an operative position adjacent said one feed roll or at a threading position spaced from said one feed roll a sufficient distance to permit manual threading of the web between said feed rolls; and,

d. said supporting means being movably mounted on said structure and additionally supporting said members.

64. A packaging apparatus comprising:

a. means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web, having a plurality of spaced preformed lines of weakness thereon defining container ends, to a loading station and for sequentiallypositioning a container formed on the web in registry with the loading station;

b. closure means operative while said container is p0- sitioned at said loading station and without moving said container into registry with any other station, to open said container for loading, close said container once it has been loaded, secure the closure, and initiate severance of said loaded container from the remainder of the web.

65. The packaging apparatus of claim 64 wherein said closure means is additionally operative to remove said loaded container from the loading station to complete the severance of the loaded container from the remainder of the web.

66. A method of packaging comprising the steps of:

a. providing structure defining a loading station;

b. providing a web of packaging material having a series of spaced'preformed lines of weakness thereon defining container ends and having a container open along one end including a series of substantially identical preformed interconnected containtainer from the remainder of the web.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1;;

{IERTIFICA'IE OF CORRECTION ,Patent No. 3,315,318 Da ed June 11, 1974 I EERNARU LERNER Inventofls) It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 8,' line 18, delete "explaned" and substitute explained 4 Patents as follows should be added to references cited:

3 558 400 3 1971 Pitts 53/183 3,59?,,895 8/1971 Jensen 53/29 3,151,001 12/1964 Grevich 53/182 3,618,286 11 1971 Membrino 53/29 Signed and sealed this 5th day of November- 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCZQY Me GEESGN JR. 1 C. MARSHALL DANN Atteetimg; @ffieer Commissioner of Patents FORM F'O-105O (10-69) \JSCOMM-DC GONG-p09 0 \l S GOVLRNNLNI FIINHNG OH' CC I969 (1-166-535 

1. In a packaging machine: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected heat-sealable bag-like containers; b. means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station; c. sealing means establishing a sealing station for sealing a loaded container; d. said sealing means comprising a movably mounted assembly including a heater bar, a gripper bar and a sealing bar; e. actuator means for relatively moving said sealing bar and said heater bar toward and away from one another; f. said gripper bar being operative to grip the web along a line in the region near the area of the heat seal being formed on said loaded container; and, g. said assembly being movable to sever said loaded container from said web along a line of weakness of the web during that portion of the heat sealing cycle subsequent to the engagement of the web by said gripper bar and prior to the release of the web by said gripper bar.
 2. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted about an axis perpendicular to the plane of said path of travel so as to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web serially along the line from a starting point on one end of the line.
 3. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said sealing station is disposed laterally of said path of travel and said sealing bar is operable to move the loaded container laterally of said loading station to said sealing station and to clamp opposite sides of the loaded container between said heater bar and said sealing bar while causing said gripper bar to engage the web near the region being heat sealed.
 4. The packaging machine of claim 1 additionally including stripper means for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar once the force clamping said heater bar and said sealing bar against the loaded container has been released.
 5. The packaging machine of claim 4 wherein said sealing bar includes a magnet adapted to move said stripper means to strip a sealed loaded container from said heater bar during outward movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.
 6. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said gripper bar is toothed to form a series of punctures in said web along said line.
 7. The packaging machine of claim 6 wherein said gripper bar is mounted on said pivotally mounted assembly of said heater bar and said gripper bar is provided with a heat dissipator to prevent its becoming substantially heated by said heater bar.
 8. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein: said sealing bar is supported by a pair of rods; said pair of rods are movably supported by said pivotally mounted assembly for axial movement relative thereto; and said actuator means connects with said support rods to move said support rods and said sealing bar.
 9. The packaging machine of claim 8 wherein said actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder.
 10. A packaging machine comprising: an outer protective cabinet; structure within said cabinet establishing a path of travel for said web of interconnected heat-sealable bag-like containers; means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station; sealing means establishing a sealing station rearwardly of said loading station for closing a loaded container about its contents; said sealing means comprising a pivotally mounted assembly including a heater bar, a knife bar, and a sealing bar; a first actuator means mounted on said pivotally mounted assembly and operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar; a second actuator means mounted on said cabinet and connecting with said pivotally mounted assembly to pivotally move said assembly about its pivotal connection; a knife bar operative to grip said web along a line in the region above the area of the heat seal being formed on said loaded container; and said assembly being pivotally movable to tear said loaded container being sealed from said web along a line of weakness in the web concurrently with the formation of said heat seal.
 11. The packaging machine of claim 10 wherein: said sealing bar has a rubber pad formed therealong; said knife bar is mounted on said assembly above said heater bar adjacent said heater bar; and said rubber pad is operative to clamp the opposite sides of said loaded container against said heater bar and to cause knife bar to puncture said web.
 12. The packaging machine of claim 11 wherein said knife bar and said heater bar are shielded from contact by a guard bracket having an opening formed therethrough such that said sealing bar serves to position said web through said opening and in contact with said heater bar and said knife bar during the formation of a heat seal.
 13. The packaging machine of claim 11 wherein said sealing bar is operable to move said loaded container rearwardly of said loading station to said sealing station.
 14. The packaging machine of claim 11 wherein said knife bar is toothed to form a series of punctures in said web and is provided with a heat dissipator to prevent its becoming substantially heated by said heater bar.
 15. The packaging machine of claim 11 additionally including a stripper bar pivotally mounted adjacent said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.
 16. The packaging machine of claim 13 wherein said sealing bar additionally includes a magnet adapted to engage said stripper bar when said sealing bar is moved to its inward position and to move said stripping bar to strip a sealed loaded container from said heater bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said heater bar.
 17. The packaging machine of claim 8 wherein said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls and at least one of said feed rolls is movable away from the other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls.
 18. The packaging machine of claim 17 additionally including a pair of pivotally mounted arms supporting said one feed roll, and lock means operable to releasably position said one feed roll in engagement with said other feed roll.
 19. The packaging machine of claim 16 wherein said pivotally mounted assembly is pivotally mounted from one of said arms.
 20. In a packaging machine: structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected heat sealable bag-like containers; means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station; sealing structure for closing said containers about their contents including at least one sealing member movable into engagement with the loaded container to be sealed; actuator means for moving said at least one sealing member; support structure for positioning said sealing structure laterally spaced from said patH; and a manually controlled mechanism operative to effect operation of said actuator means and said advancing means; whereby loaded containers are detachable from said web immediately upon being loaded and said manually controlled mechanism is operable to simultaneously effect sealing of said loaded container and feeding of a successive container to said loading station.
 21. The packaging machine of claim 20 wherein said sealing structure includes a heater bar and a sealing bar for clamping opposite sides of said container together against said heater bar to seal said container.
 22. The packaging machine of claim 21 wherein said heater bar is rigidly mounted behind said loading station and said sealing bar is mounted for movement toward and away from said heater bar.
 23. The packaging machine of claim 22 wherein said actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said sealing bar to effect movement of said sealing bar.
 24. A method of packaging comprising the steps of: a. providing a sealing station including a heater bar disposed adjacent but spaced from a gripper bar; b. providing a web of heat-sealable material having a loaded container unsealed along one end; c. positioning said web such that the loaded container is at said sealing station; d. clamping portions of the faces of said loaded container which are to be sealed against said gripper bar; e. while said faces are clamped against said gripper bar, effecting a heat seal between said faces by clamping said faces against said heater bar, and effecting a separation of the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness in the web spaced from the region of the heat seal by moving the loaded container together with the heater bar and the gripper bar relative to the web so as to exert separation forces along the line of weakness, the gripper bar serving to isolate the separation forces from the region of the heat seal.
 25. A method of packaging comprising the steps of: providing a supply of plastic bag-like containers in web form with an open end of one bag attached to the closed end of a succeeding bag; feeding said web along a path of travel with the closed end of each container preceding the open end thereof; providing a loading station at a predetermined location along said path of travel; terminating the feed of said web when the open end of each container is located at said loading station; loading the container at said loading station; providing a sealing station defined by at least one container sealing element near said loading station and spaced laterally from said path of travel; moving said container laterally into engagement with said sealing element to effect a seal; releasing said sealed loaded container from said sealing element; and as the seal is being effected simultaneously advancing said web along said path to bring a successive container into said loading position.
 26. The method of packaging of claim 25 additionally including the step of pivoting said sealing element during the formation of said seal to tear said loaded container from said web along a line of weakness.
 27. The method of packaging of claim 26 additionally including the step of puncturing said web along a line above the region of said seal simultaneously with the formation of said seal.
 28. The method of packaging of claim 26 wherein said pivoting of said sealing element is performed only during the formation of selected seals such that chains of interconnected loaded containers are formed.
 29. The method of claim 26 additionally including the step of stripping said sealed container from said sealing element subsequent to the detaching of said sealed container from said web.
 30. The method of claim 25 additionally including the step of detaching said loaded container from said web while in said loading station prior to moving said loaded container to said sealing station.
 31. The mEthod of claim 30 wherein the sealing of said detached container comprises the steps of inserting the open end of said detached container into said sealing station and actuating a manually operable means to effect sealing of said container.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein said manually operable means is operative both to effect the sealing of said container and to effect the advancement of said web along said path to move a successive one of said containers into loading position.
 33. In a packaging machine: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a web of interconnected bag-like containers; b. means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of said containers at a loading station; c. closure means establishing a container closure station for effecting closure of a loaded container; d. said closure means comprising a movably mounted assembly including gripper means, closure securing means, and bar means movable relative to said gripper means and said closure securing means for clamping opposite sides of a loaded container to assure a positive closure thereof and to permit the securing of such closure by said closure securing means; e. actuator means for relatively moving said bar means toward and away from said gripper means and said closure securing means; f. said assembly being movable so as to sever the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness of the web; and, g. said gripper means being operable in conjunction with said bar means to engage the web near the region of operation of said closure securing means to effectively isolate this region from such forces as are applied to sever the web during movement of said assembly whereby the closure securing operation and the web severing operations can, if desired, be performed substantially concurrently.
 34. A method of packaging comprising the steps of: a. providing a closure station including closure securing means disposed near but spaced from a gripper means; b. providing a web of material having a loaded container open along one end; c. positioning said web such that the loaded container is at the closure station; d. clamping portions of the faces of said loaded container which are to be closed against said gripper means; and, e. while said faces are clamped against said gripper means, securing the closure of the loaded container by operating said closure securing means, and effecting a separation of the loaded container from the web along a line of weakness in the web spaced from the region of operation of said closure securing means by moving the loaded container together with the closure securing means and the gripper means relative to the web so as to exert separation forces along the line of weakness, the gripper means serving to isolate the separation forces from the region of operation of the closure securing means.
 35. In a packaging machine: a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web; b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station; c. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station; d. said closure means including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure; e. said closure means comprising a pivotally mounted assembly with said closure members including a heater bar, a gripper bar, and a sealing bar; f. actuator means mounted on said pivotally mounted assembly and operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heAter bar; g. control means operable to release said closure members to permit a closed and loaded container to be removed from said closure station; h. said gripper bar being operative to engage said web in regions near the area of a heat seal being formed on said loaded container; and, i. said assembly being movable to tear said loaded container being sealed from said web along a line of weakness in the web substantially concurrently with the formation of said heat seal.
 36. The packaging machine of claim 35 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted about an axis perpendicular to the plane of said path of travel in the region of said loading station, said axis being transversely spaced from said path of travel.
 37. In a packaging machine: a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web; b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station; c. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station; d. said closure means including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure; e. actuator means for moving said closure members relatively; f. control means operable to release said closure members to permit a closed loaded container to be removed from said closure station; and g. said control means comprising control means a manually controlled mechanism operative to effect operation of said actuator means and said advancing means, whereby loaded containers are detachable from said web immediately upon being loaded and said manually controlled mechanism is operative to effect sealing of said loaded container and to simultaneously advance a successive container to said loading station.
 38. The packaging machine of claim 37 wherein: a. said sealing means includes a heater bar and a sealing bar; and b. said actuator means is operative to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar.
 39. In a packaging machine: a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web; b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station; c. closure means for closing a loaded container, and establishing a closing station spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station such that the web may be fed along the path past said closing station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closing station; d. said closure means including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with said loaded container to move the container to the load station, to bring its faces together and to effect a closure; e. actuator means for moving said closure members relatively; f. control means operable to release said closure members to permit a closed and loaded container to be removed from said closure station; g. said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls; h. one of said feed rolls is supported by a pair of pivotally mounted arms such that said one feed roll may be moved away from said other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls; i. said pivotally mounted assembly is pivotally mounted from one of said arms; and, j. a second actuator means is provided for pivoting said pivotally mounted assembly about its pivoted connection with said arm.
 40. The packaging machine of claim 39 wherein said second actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said pivotally mounted assembly to effect movement of said pivotally mounted assembly.
 41. A packaging apparatus comprising: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station; and, b. container closure and gripping means for: i. closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station; ii. gripping the loaded container so as to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the container; iii. thereafter applying such container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web, said forces being applied to the line of weakness while the bag is being gripped to isolate the separation forces; and c. said closure and gripping means including structure for at least partially penetrating the web to positively engage the web and facilitate the separation of the loaded container from other portions of the web.
 42. The packaging apparatus of claim 41 wherein said structure comprises a toothed gripper bar.
 43. In a packaging machine: a. web feed means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web: b. means for advancing such web along said path to successively position each of a plurality of successive web portions as a container at a loading station; c. closure means establishing a container closure station for closing a loaded container; d. said closure means comprising a movably mounted assembly including relatively movable closure members movable into engagement with a loaded container to bring its faces together and to effect a closure; e. actuator means coupled to said members to effect relative movement of said members toward and away from each other; f. said assembly being movable to sever a loaded container from the web along a line of weakenss in the web; and g. said members being operable to grip the web in regions near the area of the closure to effectively isolate the area of the closure from such forces as are applied to sever the web during movement of said assembly, whereby the closure and web severing operation can, if desired, be performed substantially concurrently.
 44. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein: a. said closure station is spaced laterally from said path but sufficiently near said loading station that the web may be fed along the path past said closure station, and such that a container positioned in the loading station will extend below the closure station; and b. said members are additionally operable to move a loaded container to the closure station.
 45. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein said assembly is pivotally mounted and is operable to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web in such manner as will effect separation of a loaded container from the web serially along the line from a starting point near one end of the line.
 46. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein: a. said members are operable to heat seal a loaded container and comprise a heater bar, a sealing bar, and a gripper means; b. said actuator means is operable to move said sealing bar toward and away from said heater bar; and c. said gripper means is operative to engage said web in regions near the heat seal being formed on a loaded container to effectively isolate the region of the heat seal from such container separation forces as may be applied to the web during movement of said assembly.
 47. The packaging machine of claim 46 additionally including a stripper bar pivotally mounted adjacent said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said gripper bar during movement of said sealing bar away from said gripper bar.
 48. The packaging machine of claim 46 wherein said heater bar is shielded from contact by a guard bracket and said sealing bar is movably mounted for bringing the faces of a loaded container together between said heater Bar and said sealing bar to effect a heat seal.
 49. The packaging machine of claim 48 wherein: a. said actuator means comprises an air actuator which is sufficiently weak to prevent injury to an operator''s hand accidentally positioned between said guard bracket and said sealing bar during a sealing operation; and b. said sealing bar carries a resilient pad which further serves to protect the operator''s hand.
 50. The packaging machine of claim 48 wherein said gripper bar is disposed adjacent said heater bar and shielded from contact by said guard bracket.
 51. The packaging machine of claim 43 wherein: a. said advancing means comprises a pair of feed rolls; b. one of said feed rolls is supported by a pair of pivotally mounted arms such that said one feed roll may be moved away from said other feed roll to facilitate threading of said web between said feed rolls.
 52. The packaging machine of claim 51 additionally including lock means adapted to releasably lock said one feed roll in engagement with said other feed roll.
 53. The packaging machine of claim 51 wherein said assembly in pivotally mounted from one of said arms.
 54. The packaging machine of claim 53 wherein a second actuator means is provided for pivoting said pivotally mounted assembly about its pivoted connection with said arm.
 55. The packaging machine of claim 54 wherein said second actuator means comprises a fluid-pressure responsive cylinder connected to said pivotally mounted assembly to effect movement of said pivotally mounted assembly.
 56. A packaging apparatus comprising: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station; b. feeding means for advancing said web along said path to successively position each of a series of containers on the web at the loading station; c. container closure and gripping means carried by said structure and including a movably mounted assembly having relatively movable means for closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station and for gripping a closed loaded container to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the loaded container; and, d. actuator means for moving said assembly subsequent to the engagement of said relatively movable means with the loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web to sever the container from the web.
 57. A packaging apparatus, comprising: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station; b. container closure and gripping means movably carried by said structure and including relatively movable closure members for closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station, gripping means for gripping a closed loaded container to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the container, and actuator means for moving said closure and gripping means subsequent to the engagement of said closure members with a loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web to sever the container from the web; c. said closure and gripping means being pivotally mounted such that said container separation forces are applied serially along said line of weakness starting from a point on one end of the line, by pivoting said closure and gripping means relative to the path of travel of the web.
 58. The packaging apparatus of claim 57 additionally including sealer means for sealing the loaded container during the gripping of the loaded container by said closure and gripping means.
 59. The packaging apparatus of claim 58 wherein said sealer means includes a heater bar against which the loaded container is clamped during closure to effect a heat seal.
 60. A packaging apparatus, comprising: a. structure establishing a path of travel for a packaging web to a loading station; b. container closure and gripping means movably carried by said structure and including relatively movable closure members for closing a container after it has been loaded at the loading station, gripping means for gripping a closed loaded container to confine subsequently applied container separation forces to a limited portion of the container, and actuator means for moving said closure and gripping means subsequent to the engagement of said closure members with a loaded container to apply container separation forces to a line of weakness connecting the loaded container to the web to sever the container from the web; c. sealer means for sealing the loaded container during the gripping of the loaded container by said closure and gripping means, including a heater bar against which the loaded container is clamped during closure to effect a heat seal; and, d. a stripper bar movably mounted near said heater bar for stripping a sealed loaded container from said heater bar.
 61. A packaging apparatus for heat sealing loaded containers at a sealing station, comprising: a. structure establishing a path of travel for movement of a web of bag-like containers to position a loaded container in the sealing station; b. a pair of sealing members movable relatively toward each other to bring together and heat seal opposite faces of a loaded container positioned between the members; c. a shield having a recess formed therein; d. one of said members comprising a heater mounted inwardly of said recess and shielded therein from contact by an operator; e. the other of said members being operative during movement toward said one member to move at least a portion of a loaded container into said recess and into engagement with said heater to heat seal the container; f. means mounting said members for movement as a unit relative to said structure to apply container separation forces to separate a loaded container from the web; and g. gripper means for gripping a loaded container to isolate the region of the heat seal being formed thereon from such container separation forces as result when said members move as a unit relative to said structure.
 62. The packaging apparatus of claim 61 wherein said other member additionally serves to clamp the web against said gripper means to positively engage the web thereby facilitating separation of a loaded container from other portions of the web.
 63. The packaging apparatus of claim 61 additionally including: a. feeding means for advancing the web along said path comprising at least a pair of feed rolls disposed on opposite sides of said path for engaging and feeding the web; b. one of said rolls being stationarily mounted on said structure; c. supporting means mounting the other of said rolls and being adapted to selectively support said other roll at an operative position adjacent said one feed roll or at a threading position spaced from said one feed roll a sufficient distance to permit manual threading of the web between said feed rolls; and, d. said supporting means being movably mounted on said structure and additionally supporting said members.
 64. A packaging apparatus comprising: a. means establishing a path of travel for a packaging web, having a plurality of spaced preformed lines of weakness thereon defining container ends, to a loading station and for sequentially positioning a container formed on the web in registry with the loading station; b. closure means operative while said container is positioned at said loading station and without moving said container into registry with any other station, to open said container for loading, close said container once it has been loaded, secure the closure, and initiate severance of said loaded container from the remainder of the web.
 65. The packaging apparatus of claim 64 wherein said closure means is additionally operative to remove said loaded container from the loading station to complete the severaNce of the loaded container from the remainder of the web.
 66. A method of packaging comprising the steps of: a. providing structure defining a loading station; b. providing a web of packaging material having a series of spaced preformed lines of weakness thereon defining container ends and having a container open along one end including a series of substantially identical preformed interconnected containers; c. positioning said web such that the container is in registry with the loading station; and, d. while said container is at the loading station and without moving said container into registry with another station; i. opening said container; ii. loading said container; iii. closing said container; iv. securing the closure of said container; and, v. initiating severance of said container from the remainder of the web.
 67. The method of claim 66 additionally including the step of removing the loaded container from the loading station to complete the severance of the container from the remainder of the web. 